Quick Shifts: Why Maple Leafs’ trade strategy will be complicated

A quick mix of the things we gleaned from the week of hockey, serious and less so, and rolling four lines deep. Totally gonna hit the gym more in 2025. Yeah, totally.

1. The great opportunity facing the Toronto Maple Leafs is complicated by several factors as the Atlantic Division leaders speed toward the March 7 trade deadline.

To be certain, there is more internal belief in this season’s style of play, coaching experience, and standings position to make a more serious push in the midseason trade market compared to last winter.

Lacking a second-round pick and hesitant to part with their first-rounder for a rental, the 2023-24 Leafs lacked the purchasing power and the conviction to make a serious bid for, say, a centreman like Adam Henrique or Sean Monahan or Tomas Hertl.

GM Brad Treliving shopped, instead, for value. A Connor Dewar here. A Joel Edmundson there. An Ilya Lyubushkin reunion, why not?

Decent additions at reasonable prices, but hardly wow moves.

Well, the stakes are higher, and the hockey is more consistent this time around.

Which can and should influence the shot-caller’s willingness to be among the headline-makers.

President Brendan Shanahan is in the final year of his own contract. And if that doesn’t ramp up a sense of let’s-go-for-it, maybe the fact that Mitch Marner and John Tavares are in the final years of theirs should.

Toss in the fact that Marner, Tavares, William Nylander, and (knock wood) Auston Matthews are all performing well — and veteran defencemen like Chris Tanev, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Morgan Rielly are only going to get older — and 2025 is shaping up like the deadline to get aggressive.

Will Toronto get goaltending this strong again? Be so comfortable in tight, one-goal games? Have such an open shot at winning not only the division but the eastern Conference, which is unusually weak this season compared to the West?

Treliving is said to prefer targeting a centre with term, but that’s what they all say.

Absolutely, his 2025 second- and third-round draft picks will be in play. For the right asset, the Leafs’ 2026 first-rounder should be on the table too. (They don’t have a 2025 first.)

Maybe that’s enough capital to package together a deal for a Yanni Gourde or a Scott Laughton or, perhaps, a Brock Nelson.

But would Treliving dare aim higher and try to lure a top-line forward from New York or Vancouver, as those front offices scramble?

The prudent play in Toronto is to cling to “A” prospects like Easton Cowan, Fraser Minten, and Ben Danford. You won’t be criticized for holding tight to names with hope.

But true difference-makers cost. They mean risk.

And when we glance around the East, we don’t see an opponent the Leafs should fear. Or, for a real impact player, one they should be scared to outbid.

Because there is risk in playing safe, too.

2. The Flyers are taking the long view with 20-year-old rookie Matvei Michkov. Regarding his point total or recent struggles — one goal and minus-14 in his past 15 games — they still look at it as a huge plus to simply get him out of the KHL and onto North American ice earlier than anticipated.

This season isn’t about pushing the kid for the Calder.

It’s about John Tortorella beginning to coach him on proper habits when he doesn’t have the puck. It’s about introducing the winger to the rigours of an NHL schedule and the necessary conditioning and nutrition that requires. It’s also about learning how to communicate with teammates and staff in English.

The Flyers now travel with an interpreter to help their most prized prospect between periods and after games. The kid comprehends more words than he can speak. He’s coming along.

Michkov’s unteachable skill level, offensive creativity and competitiveness, Tortorella believes, are already intact.

“He’s fantastic. I think the biggest compliment you can give a player is when you call him a hockey player. He’s a hockey player. He loves playing,” Tortorella told reporters this week when the club rolled through Toronto.

“He is going to learn that there is another side to the puck.”

The coach concedes that Michkov will never become a “defensive genius” and looks at his offensive dynamo as a project, not unlike the way Torts pushed Vincent Lecavalier to round out his defensive game.

“I had two years of moments with Vinny,” Tortorella quips. “We’re doing our job.”

The coach is adamant that his Lightning don’t win a Cup without Lecavalier becoming more defensively responsible. Same goes with Washington and Alex Ovechkin.

“Is he great at it? No!” Tortorella said. “Is Mich gonna be great at it? No!”

But that doesn’t mean the Flyers don’t need to make him capable at it.

3. Not a fan of overtime becoming an open shinny contest when a gold medal hangs in the balance.

Between Czechia’s (14-round!) shootout victory and Teddy Stiga’s 3-on-3 golden goal eight minutes into overtime to seal back-to-back championships for the U.S., neither medal at this year’s world junior tournament was decided by good old-fashioned 5-on-5, the way Morgan Freeman intended.

I totally understand the need to keep the tournament moving through round-robin action and even the early elimination rounds. Multiple games on one rink and all that.

But for gold?

Why are we in such a rush? Where do we gotta go?

Just as I wasn’t thrilled when, in 2022, tennis’s Grand Slam events flipped to a 10-point tie-break when the final set is knotted 6-6.

When a massive title is on the line, I love the attrition aspect of sticking to the same rules that built the do-or-die moment in the first place.

Imagine determining Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final by 3-on-3 OT. (“Yes please,” say the Edmonton Oilers.)

4. Quote of the Week!

Love the attitude of Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jakub Dobes.

The call-up you had to Google was being interviewed on the regional broadcast, and the reporter prefaced his question with: “You were the goalie winner of the last game, a game the team was not supposed to win. How does that make you build up more motivation?”

Dobes’s calm response: “I don’t think we were not supposed to win that game. I think we have something special in the locker room. I don’t think we are the underdogs ever. That’s our mentality. Or at least my mentality. I believe in the guys.”

Beauty.

5. We don’t see anyone snatching the Jack Adams Trophy from Washington’s Spencer Carbery quite yet. (Chris Patrick for GM of the Half-Year, too?)

But we are all taking Colorado’s Jared Bednar for granted, probably because we expect the Avalanche to be in the mix at this point.

The NHL’s third-longest-tenured bench boss is putting the lie to the adage: “Show me a good coach, and I’ll show you a good goalie.”

As Bednar’s Avalanche hit the 41-game mark, it was the NHL’s ninth-best team (by points percentage) despite having the 30th-best team save percentage (.881).

Not to mention succeeding through a rash of man-games lost to injury and suspension.

6. Not surprised Avs GM Chris MacFarland went out and snatched Mackenzie Blackwood out of San Jose, but I was taken aback at how quickly Colorado extended him for five more seasons at $5.25 million per.

“As I said when we acquired him, we feel like Mackenzie has just gotten better and better every year, and he has come in and done a great job with us in his first few starts. He’s a big body, athletic goaltender, who is still young and still growing as a goaltender,” McFarland said. “Stylistically, he has fit really well with how we play and has been a perfect fit in our dressing room.”

Blackwood, 28, has never appeared in a single playoff game, and Colorado has already committed to him through his age-33 season.

Sure, Blackwood’s brilliant start in Denver (8-1-1, .940) and underlying metrics (15.1 goals saved above average already this season) are fantastic signs.

But we suspect MacFarland didn’t want to be standing around like the Fresh Prince meme this summer after surveying a problematic UFA goalie market:

Washington likes both Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren for now.

Calgary and Dan Vladar might extend their relationship.

Frederik Andersen’s injury history is worrisome at best.

God love Ilya Samsonov, but the man can be a wild card.

Marc-Andre Fleury appears ready to hang ’em up.

Surely, Vegas will take a run at retaining Adin Hill.

And Utah has the cap space to keep Karel Vejmelka in the fold if he wants to stay.

Kevin Lankinen has certainly proven great value, but you’d be hard-pressed to label him a No. 1.

The options will be thin.

7. A thoughtful Bobby McMann considers his journey from crummy training camp and opening-night healthy scratch to the most productive forward outside the Maple Leafs’ top six.

“Sometimes over the summer, you lose touch with a little bit of the hockey sense. You haven’t played games in a while. And I was just trying to find that,” McMann explains.

“Because I didn’t get it necessarily right away, I wasn’t feeling good about it right away. I started to overthink it a little bit. Like, second guess: Should I go here? Should I not?”

McMann was swimming in his own head at camp, ahead of his first year as a bona fide NHLer with newfound contract security.

Today, he’s playing fast and free. His 12 goals through 34 games helped him earn the organization’s trust and the occasional promotion to Line 2.

Coach Berube says the McMann of early January is “totally different” than the one he was introduced to in early October.

“I used the term the other day with (Matthew) Knies: just reckless. Like, he’s skating and attacking — and that’s his game. He’s got great size, great feet, and he’s playing this north hockey, and he’s been very successful,” Berube says. “So, very pleased with him and his growth as a player.

“Not a great camp, but he’s moving now.”

In McMann’s mind, what has changed?

“Just my aggressiveness. Trying to be thinking less on the ice,” he says.

“I came in this year thinking a little bit too much and trying to plan where I was on the ice and trying to fit perfectly into the systems. But it’s still, at the end of the day, a hockey game. You’re still reading, reacting. And then once I started playing like that, skills take over, and I can trust myself. And then I think things turned appropriately for me.”

The late bloomer celebrated his 100th career NHL game Tuesday, at age 28.

His stat line: 27 goals, 42 points, plus-16.

Not bad for a guy who was never drafted, has pushed through a series of injuries, and is still hunting his first taste of the post-season.

“Yeah, happy with it so far. Definitely not complacent,” McMann says.

“I want to be better. I want more all the time. So, it’s just continuing to work every day, knowing that it never gets easier. Especially as the year goes on, games get harder and harder, and then you’re just getting excited for playoffs. So, that’s kind of the focus.”

8. Speaking of undrafted Leafs on value deals, McMann appreciates seeing a journeyman like Philippe Myers — another AHL-NHL bubble player — earn a contract extension ($850,000 AAV).

When Auston Matthews led the team stretch at morning skate last Saturday, the Leafs began slapping their sticks at centre ice. Some assumed the players were welcoming their captain back after another injury hiatus.

In fact, they were celebrating Myers’ contract.

“It’s a lot of respect. Because those situations can go one of two ways, and it’s all about the mindset you have. He’s had the right mindset, and it’s paid off in a two-year deal. So, it’s pretty sweet to see,” McMann says of a defenceman who was scratched for 22 of Toronto’s first 23 games.

“He didn’t start the year in a position that was giving him a lot of opportunity, but he had a good mindset all the way through. He was happy for the guys anytime we’re winning, anytime guys are having success. That’s what we want in our locker room: a guy who’s a good teammate.”

While some pegged Myers as a Marlie, he earned his job by winning over Berube with his size, attitude, simplicity, safety, and willingness to shoot.

The 27-year-old righty says he had “a couple other offers” as a free agent in the summer but is grateful to extend with a contender.

“My goal from camp was just to make the team. And once I made the team, I knew I was going to have to be patient. And my mindset all year has been just taking it day by day and show up with a good attitude and work your boots off. So, that’s kind of the mindset still,” Myers says.

“Just bring a good attitude to the rink and work hard. Good things will happen.”

Bouncing between Lehigh Valley, Philadelphia, Nashville, Tampa Bay, Syracuse, and now Toronto in a span of seven seasons, Myers is “extremely happy” for two years of security, albeit at a team-friendly rate.

Sulking, he’s learned, gets you nowhere. Positivity gets you partnered with Morgan Rielly on the Atlantic’s first-place team.

“I’ve just been around for a few years, and it’s always better when you have a good attitude and don’t bring anybody down. It’s just whatever the team needs, right?” Myers smiles.

“I just love being around the boys. You know, we got a good group and a really good team. We got the chance to make something happen this year. And the goal is obviously the Stanley Cup. And it’s just awesome. It’s amazing. It’s an Original Six team. Growing up, I watched them a lot on TV. And it’s really an honour to be here and to represent the team.”

9. Following his nine-point contribution to the Dallas Stars’ run to the Western Conference final, many circled Logan Stankoven as a Calder candidate this season.

And yet, the five-foot-eight sparkplug is stuck on four goals over 38 games.

Stankoven ripped six in his 24-game call-up last season, and his shooting percentage has dropped from 11.8 to 3.9.

“Tank’s been really good. Just, I would call it a little snake bit, you know? I think the underlying numbers, the chances (are there). The beauty of him is, he gives you a consistent game every night in his effort and his compete and his work away from the puck and his hounding of the puck, his forechecking,” coach Peter DeBoer explains.

“That’s every night, whether he’s scoring or he isn’t. I think he’d like to score more. I think he’s worn that a little bit. But we keep reminding him, the chances have been there. And he’s just got to stick with it. It’s a hard league to score in.”

Stankoven was a 100-point guy in the WHL and much better than a point-per-game with the AHL Stars. Hence his promotion to an NHL contender before completing a full year on the farm.

But now he’s adjusting to life as a third-line, second-power-play winger who is not getting enough looks to dig out of a slump.

Stankoven hasn’t scored in 23 games and counting. Yikes.

“The biggest thing for him is, he doesn’t stop moving. He’s always moving his feet, always trying to get in position,” encourages teammate Jason Robertson.

“As a smaller guy, you have to be able to do that. Keep moving, keep grinding, keep going, getting those pucks. I mean, he’s a dog on a bone out there, right? So, his takeaways, his forechecking, everything has been super impressive — especially because it’s his first year.”

(P.S. Modifying the kid’s hockey nickname from “Stank” to “Tank” is probably the smart call.)

10. Ready for a crazy stat?

Other than Steven Lorentz, no skater has played as many as 35 games without taking a penalty.

Lorentz has played 43 and counting without a single trip to the box.

Even crazier? Lorentz leads all Maple Leafs forwards with 114 hits.

“I do a pretty good job of just dumbing it down. It’s just a shift at a time,” the fourth-liner checker explains. “For me, it’s little things like being in the right position and not trying to cheat the game and keeping the game in front of you.”

Lorentz jokes that he’s hesitant to discuss the topic for fear of spoiling his PIM doughnut. He figures it’s only a matter of time before someone steps on his stick and he gets an accidental tripping minor.

“But at the same time, I pride myself in being on the right side of pucks and little things in battles where you’re not going to get caught out of position and exposed,” he says. “It’s part of my game to go finish checks, definitely. Not necessarily run around but get in the forecheck and get that first guy — take him out of the play, so our next few guys can come in and keep the forecheck going.”

Lorentz, a strong candidate for Happiest NHLer Alive, says he’s never been much for penalties at any level. He was too busy scoring goals in minor hockey.

“I don’t really like sitting in the box; at the end of the day, you are hurting your team. There are good penalties to take, definitely — when you’re standing up for a teammate, or you gotta save a goal. But I’ve never really been one to be in the penalty box, wasting my time when I could be on any ice contributing,” Lorentz says.

As he talks after a skate, Lorentz is standing in the Leafs dressing room kinda bouncing from foot to foot.

“I just can’t sit still,” he smiles, “so I don’t want to be in there sitting still for two minutes.”

11. Heading into Friday night’s action, nine Eastern Conference teams were jammed between 39 and 46 points in the standings.

That level of super-parity slices like a double-edged sword.

It should make for a heckuva wild-card race, but with so many franchises hovering around the fringes, fewer teams will be clear deadline sellers, especially if ownership smells an opportunity for playoff gates.

Let’s see if we can’t get a little more separation over the next couple of months.

12. You know things have hit rock bottom when Mark Messier — your most recent captain to hoist a Stanley Cup — goes on national TV and talks about a fractured core, a disconnect between management and the coaching staff and the dressing room.

We’ve been scratching our heads and just can’t remember a Presidents’ Trophy-winning, conference-final-reaching roster taking such a dramatic freefall just three months into its next season.

High drama on Broadway.